300 RUM light-weight hunter

This is a light-weight hunting rifle we custom built for a very good, repeat customer (with pretty awesome taste!). It is chambered in 300 RUM. The rifle is 47 3/4″ long and weighs only 9.2 pounds exactly as shown complete with the scope.

Receiver

The receiver is one of our Defiance Machine-manufactured MARS Hunters. This particular one has a control-feed claw extractor. An integral scope base provides 20-MOA of cant and Picatinny mounting for the scope rings. The loading port is easily accessible since the Picatinny portion of the base is interrupted over the port.

The receiver has a side bolt release for easy removal of the bolt for cleaning and transportation.

Barrel

After lapping the receiver lugs and mapping the receiver, we fit a Proof Research 1:9.4 twist carbon-wrapped “Sendero” contour barrel. The barrel is 26″ long and chambered in 300 RUM. We setup the chamber specifically to have .005″ jump with a 230-grain Berger hybrid bullet set optimally in the case.

The muzzle was threaded 5/8×24 and an Elk Meadows Titanium brake was installed and blended to the barrel for a seamless transition. The bore line of the brake was originally undersized and we opened it up to provide optimal performance. The muzzle threads were cut so the brake would be perfectly timed when properly torqued.

The barreled action was then coated Graphite Black.

Stock, Bottom Metal and Trigger

The stock is a Manners Composite MCS-EH1 that was coated in Multicam by our friends at Custom Gun Coatings. It does have some handling marks in these pictures because the rifle was used prior to us taking these pictures.

We perfectly fit the barrel channel to the barrel. We then pillar bedded the barreled action and bottom metal to the stock. The bottom metal is an Oberndorf style by our friends at Hawkins Precision. It has a sleek, traditional hunting style and machining that is second to none. Like the barreled action, the bottom metal was coated with Graphite Black Cerakote.

The trigger is a Trigger Tech “Special” that was tuned to 1# 8.0 oz. The pull weight is adjustable via a small screw just forward of the shoe, accessible without having to remove the barreled action from the stock. We’ve found these triggers very crisp and consistent. It is a great choice for hunting in inclement weather.

We installed flush cups on the left-side of the stock for quick and positive sling attachment. The cup in the rear is high on the stock to prevent the stock from rotating when using the sling for tension. A low mounted sling will result in the rifle wanting to cant to the right as tension is applied. Make sense?

We also installed our Picatinny bipod rail on the front of the stock. It allows for quick attachment and removal of a bipod. If you notice wear marks on it in these pictures, that is a result of the customer actually using the rifle in the field before we took these pictures. 😉 Trust me, the rifle was flawless when it first left here.

Scope and Rings

The scope is a Nightforce NXS 5.5-22 power with a MOAR reticle. It has a side parallax adjustment and illuminated reticle, which is turned on by pulling out the parallax turret. The ZeroStop feature allows for quick and positive return to zero.

The rings are Hawkins Precision light-weight and feature a built-in anti-cant bubble level.

Summary…

Well, in summary this is a pretty awesome little rifle. The balance is perfect. The optic is heavier than what a lot of people would put on a “light-weight” rifle but even so the rifle still weighs LESS than 9.5 pounds!

We are blessed to have a lot of really cool projects come through the shop. But every now and then we’ll build a rifle that everyone in the shop drools on a little and we almost don’t want to ship it. This was certainly one of those.